The Acting Mom

Common Objections to Adoption

2012-02-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

While searching around some Ugandan adoption blogs, I discovered a video. A video that touched on my post about the American dream and about downsizing our home. He does a much better job at being articulate, direct and honest about the objections we all have to adoption.

Several months ago, Craig and I were not at a place where we could have heard this. We would have thought that was a nice thought.... for someone else. But all of that has changed since God has moved our hearts to how truly rich we are. We can become blinded by everything around us and forget that we are citizens of another kingdom. Craig and I are called to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, defend the cause of the fatherless, and look after orphans. Is this a special calling that we have been given? No. They are commands given to every Christian.

Take a look at this video from The Zoe Foundation and let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Adopt-umentary- Eposide 2

2012-02-10T12:26:00.000-05:00

Wonder what our kids think about having a new brother and sister from Uganda? Check out our newest adopt-umentary where Asher and Alethea share their thoughts on adoption. Enjoy!

To view Episode 1, click here.

Mustache {vs} Bows Baby Shower

2012-02-08T11:22:00.001-05:00

I love to decorate and host parties! I don't do it often because we try to live simply and we honestly don't have that margin in our lives at the moment. But hosting a baby shower for my brother, Ben and sister-in-law, Drew was the perfect excuse to use all of my pinned Pinterest ideas!

Drew is on the right and her cousin is on the left

The proud grandparents

Me and the hubs both chose a bow.

My brother and sister-in-law have decided not to find out the gender of their first baby. How fun! For their baby shower, we played on that idea and had everyone choose a mustache or a bow, based on what gender they thought the baby was. The staches were gone pretty quickly, but I think that is just because staches are very popular right now and who wouldn't want to sport a cute handmade mustache pin? I choose a bow, but I really have no inclination as to whether I am going to have a niece or a nephew.

We knew we had to seat a lot of people and we didn't have a lot of chairs. So what better to use than a couple of pallets stacked on top of each other and quilts for this outdoor hippster baby shower?

The highlight of the event, especially for the expectant mother, was the cereal bar. For the father-to-be we had a cookie bar and a milk bar to go with both. It was a lot of fun to decorate for them!

This was borrow from my friend, Jenn Cook. How adorable is this? I need to have Craig build me one!

And we had to play a couple of games,because what is a baby shower without games?

Whose beard is whose?

Diaper your baby

Stroller obstacle course

Ping-pong tournament (Ben and Drew's favorite)

It was a lot of fun and most importantly, the shower fit the style and personality of Ben and Drew. And they had a great time celebrating with their friends and family. Thanks to everyone who came and let me borrow stuff!

Restless... revisited

2012-02-07T00:33:00.000-05:00

My mind is going a million miles a minute.
God is bringing a change of heart that won't leave.
I am feeling restless again, but in a different way then before.
These words are haunting me day and night:

It is a poverty to decide

that a child must die 

so that

you may live as you wish.

-Mother Teresa

From reading about Katie and Love on their blogs, I am convicted to change.
I have the same passion burning inside of me.
And that passion follows me in my own Bible reading and sermons.
I've just allowed the American Dream to drown out that still small voice.

My mantra for the past 6 months has been:

I'M SICK OF 

MY

LIFE 

LIVING ME 

AND

ME NOT LIVING 

MY LIFE.

I say it at least once a day.
What happened to my dream of being a missionary?
Why am I not living in Africa?
Why aren't Craig and I traveling every summer to serve missionaries with our video/photography skills?
Why do we have all this stuff?

Craig and I talk about the mission field and our calling.
We still have dreams.
And we still feel a gnawing to other parts of the world.

For now, we are adopting.
Giving 2 more kids the chance for clean water, an education and loving parents.
Who knows?
We might adopt 10 more!
Who am I to limit what God can do with my life?
If He gives us the resources, we will be obedient and open our home to more.

For now, we will continue to look.
And dream.
And pray.

Burritos, Birds and Butterflies

2012-02-06T10:03:00.000-05:00

With two preschoolers in the house and a limited budget, Craig and I get creative with our date ideas.

People Safari {Make a list of different types of people and whoever spots them first gets a point}
Gift Card Date {Save gift cards from Christmas and only go to those places for dates}
Game Olympics {Play a series of boardgames and whoever wins the most is the the gold medalist}
Star Gazing {Crawl into a sleeping bag together in your backyard and spot the constellations}

This past week, we headed to Carter Road Park (Loyce Harpe Park) for a walk. As we drove there, we ran through Taco Bell (I know. Very organic of us) and grabbed a quick burrito to eat on our date. We explored nature and just relaxed without the kiddos. Here are some pics we took of us on the date just being silly.

Ready for our walk with the burritos.

Walking and relaxing

There were TONS of butterflies in this part, so I pretended to be a tree so they would land on me. It didn't work.

"The hills are alive!"

Ummm.... I think we are lost...


I tried to run here one day for my marathon training. Bad idea.

We tried to lay down to relax. Ouch. Not a soft choice.

Just thinking about life.... and how big he was going to grow his beard.

Do you have any creative date ideas to share? I'd love to know them! Please share in the comments below.

Adopt-umentary- Episode 1

2012-02-04T20:34:00.002-05:00

And here you go, folks. The first episode of the Barber Adopt-umentary! That wasn't too long of a wait, was it? Just one day since we posted the teaser and we have many more to come. We are excited to document this journey we are on and share our joys, frustrations and the things we are learning along the way with all of you and with our heart-grown kids when they are older.

And we would love to know what you want to know about. In the comments section, please ask us questions about anything and everything. And you might just see it in the next adopt-umentary. Thanks!

Adopt-umentary Teaser

2012-02-04T00:45:00.001-05:00

When we were pregnant, we gave you pregumentaries. Now that we are adopting, we present adopt-umentaries. Enjoy the anticipation of what is to come.

To see the first episode, click here.

Empty bed, Aching heart

2012-02-03T15:01:00.000-05:00

We are far away from having two more kids in our family. Money and paperwork still stand in our way. We are working on the money and the paperwork, but we know we just need to be patient.

But that doesn't stop my heart from aching.

We have been praying for the country of Uganda since 2006.
We pray still.
But now we pray for a different reason.

We pray for our kids.
The little girl that will sleep in this very bed.

And the little boy I will rock in this chair.

They are in our hearts and while the chair and the bed remain empty, we continue to pray that there will be two less orphans in this world soon.

We are ready to be their forever family.

The problem with the American Dream

2012-02-01T12:15:00.002-05:00

Here in America we have been born into a paradigm that with a little hard work, we can make our dreams a reality. Every culture has it's weaknesses and I believe this is ours. This seemingly simple theory has become warped into one that more closely resembles this: Take the thing that you love and figure out a way to make lots and lots of money at it and all that money will bring you happiness and success. Isn't that why people want to move here from other countries? To have a chance to earn money for their families? To have the opportunity to live out their dreams? To give their children an education so they can become anything they want? Our country does offer a lot of opportunities to people: freedom of faith, equal employment options, freedom from oppression, 60 shampoo options. But do all of these "freedoms" really offer true freedom? There are a mired of choices from Iphone color to fast food options to education choices. All of these choices can cloud our vision from what true happiness can be, because these choices trap us into thinking we are in control. That we have the amazing power to CHOOSE. But when we are bombarded with thousands of advertisements each and every day, how much choice do we really have? Eventually our desire to resist will be worn down and we will begin to THINK that maybe all of these choices mean we might need to partake in some of them. And when is just "some" enough? Where do we draw the line from self deprivation and living the American dream? Shouldn't we have the choice to have it all?

I live in a culture that directly contradicts my faith. And it might sound strange, but all of these choices are actually a stumbling block and an obstacle to true happiness. The Bible teaches that lasting happiness can only be found in a genuine relationship with God. How can I find meaning and fulfillment in something fleeting like success or money or the latest Kindle when the only thing that lasts is my relationship with God? I'm not a super-spiritual person and I am by no means a scholar. I am a simple woman living out her faith in a world that contradicts the very things I have learned:

DENY SELF

SACRIFICE

GIVE

SERVE

LIVE HUMBLY

FORGIVE.

It is very easy to look at what my friends have and become discontent with what I have. / Wouldn't it be nicer if my husband made more money? Absolutely! / Sure, my 1,200 square foot house is going to get crowded with two extra people. Wouldn't it be a better idea to sell this house and buy another house with two extra rooms, so all the kids can have their own space? / Of course I want a nicer phone and a Kindle and the latest fashionable boots. / But would more space to spread out or more money or the latest and greatest gadgets make us happy?

Happiness is a state of being and I am by no means the master of it. I do have a friend, however, who has a much better grasp then I do on the art of being happy. She and her family of five live on less then we do. God has provided a fully paid college education and a free addition to their home while her husband is unemployed, along with many other things. They are hard workers and creative thinkers when it comes to providing for their family and others. They are always giving and serving and HAPPY. They live out Philippians 4:12 right here in Lakeland. They inspire me daily to stop looking around at the American dream and look around to others who need a smile, a kind word and a granola bar given with love. Happiness can be done on any budget and I strive to find contentment in the blessings I have been given, and not the ones the American dream screams I need.

(Craig and I listened to several Francis Chan sermon a couple months back and I wrote a blog post about it and you can read about it by clicking here. It ties in so nicely with this blog post and if you haven't read it, I would encourage you to.)

The biggest problem with the American dream is that it doesn't give us the rewards it promises. It promises happiness, success, money, and contentment. It promises that you can have it all and there are no consequences. Instead, what it delivers in long work weeks, little time with family, credit card debt, lots of bills and a discontentment because we can't have all of the latest and greatest. The American dream puts us in a place of searching and striving and chasing the wrong goal. If happiness/contentment/joy/serenity/whatever-you-want-to-call-it is the goal, then let's rewrite the new American dream, shall we?

The new American dream: To live out our God given dreams by serving others with the ultimate goal of contented living.

I know I am dreaming, but that can be the goal for my family. Will you make it the goal for yours?

Adoption Fundraiser #2

2012-02-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

My husband is a wiz at designing! I asked if he could design a logo for our adoption journey and quick as a flash he made our idea a reality. I LOVE it because it expresses our sentiments perfectly. Adopting from Africa is a dream come true, but it is a big one. One we can't do alone or on our own strength. We have a big dream and that is part of the journey. Here is the awesome logo.

Our second fundraiser is to sell this logo on t-shirts! We will have these shirts available at our yard sale on February 25th from 8AM-2PM, but we also have them for sale on Etsy. Check out our shop and buy yours today! Click here to go to our Etsy shop.

And here we are modeling our amazing new t-shirts! This is a functional and fashionable way to support our adoption. And when wearing the shirt, it will always be a reminder to pray.

Even my Mom is sporting a shirt! She is ready for more grandchildren!

Honesty from a business woman

2012-01-31T12:21:00.001-05:00

January is my month off. After a fall full of weddings, travel and family photos, I take January as a chance to catch my breath and rest. Sure, I answer e-mails at a leisurely pace and do a couple of shoots here or there, but it is a time to reflect and collect myself for the year ahead.

All the Arnold cousins together

This past month, I started to think that I really didn't want to be a photographer anymore. Of course, I love taking photographs, meeting new people and capturing timeless images, but the business of photography was taking it's toll on my enthusiasm. I kept telling myself to buck up and find the initiative to pull myself up by my boot straps and get back to work. Where else could I find a job where I decided my own hours/pay/vacation time? The month is coming to a close and I am getting excited about starting back and stepping behind the lens again, but before I do, I would like to share some honest thoughts from where I sit.

K. Barber Photography is a business, not simply an artistic venture. It would be a whole heck of a lot easier if I simply did what I do for the love of art and earned a little extra pocket change on the side. But I have bills to pay, taxes to report and expenses to keep my business functioning. Sometimes the business side of things does suck out some of the artistic fun, but it is a necessary part of the gig. Most of my time is not spent behind the lens enjoying the great outdoors and a beautiful family. The majority of my time is spent sitting at the computer writing e-mails, editing images, ordering prints, blogging, promoting my business and the list goes on and on.

A shot from my brother and sister-in-law's maternity shoot.

My first year in business felt like a clawing match to keep myself in the public eye for natural light portraiture. There are many talented people in this area who do what I do. Many, many, MANY people in central Florida. As a newbie photog, it was intimidating to establish my prices, what that includes, if I would offer prints or simply include a CD of images. Do I have my clients sign model releases? How do I advertise without loosing all of my profits? There were many questions and hardly any answers. In this business, people are reluctant to share their tips of the trade. Along the way, I stopped looking at what everyone else was doing and began thinking about what I wanted to do. What shape should by business take? What branding would be effective? If I was my client, what services would I want to receive and what would be fair to charge for them? It has been a great time of discovery and I am sure as I continue on this business venture I will learn a lot more.

This new year, my goal is to treat my business like a job and not an all consuming force that eats every moment of my spare time. As a new business owner, there are a LOT of things to learn and do to be competitive and profitable. Because of this, most of my first year in business was spent thinking, planning and doing things for my business. Now that we are further along on that process, I can put some boundaries on this thing (Example: business hours, work hours, vacation time).

And with addition of 2 extra people in the house, I have to put some boundaries on this sucker or else everything will fall apart!

Pallet Deconstruction

2012-01-19T10:55:00.000-05:00

Last night, Craig attempted to deconstruct pallets with the tools we have.

Let me backtrack. This weekend we are hosting an outdoor shower for my brother and sister-in-law. I love to entertain, so I am really looking forward to it. It has allowed me to use lots of the ideas I have found on Pinterest, so I am a happy girl. Ben and Drew would best be described as hipsters. Not completely, but that is the best category they fit into. Have you ever seen Portlandia? That would give you a caricature sketch of them. They aren't that extreme, but anything vintage, retro and alternative and they are in. It has been fun to meld their style with mine and thus the pallets come in. (And you better believe I will be sharing MANY detailed pictures from their shower! I have made almost all the decorations, so I will be ready to brag.)

Pallets are very "in" in home decor and entertaining. They are also very vintage and functional for seating. While running for the first time after the marathon, we discovered five pallets being discarded. Score! Craig tied them to the top of our car and brought them back to the house. I really wish I had taken a picture of it, but alas! I didn't. Enjoy this silly picture of the kids looking at the patio taken over with pallets instead!

On our patio, because of the rain, Craig began to deconstruct the pallets with a jig saw (which broke), a hacksaw (which also broke), a crow bar and hammer (and yep, the hammer broke). It was a very frustrating process for him since we really don't have the tools needed for this kind of project. I admire his determination as he went to the store to purchase another hammer and continue the daunting task of deconstructing all of those pallets. And do you know what is amazing? He didn't complain once about how we don't have any tools! He didn't take this opportunity to whine about the fact that as a homeowner, he didn't have the basic instruments needed to complete simple household tasks. Instead, he just kept on working, little by little, until it was too late to be hammering. That is my husband. I admire his determination and attitude through the whole evening last night.

Thanks, Craig for working so hard to make my Pinterest visions a reality! I'll write another post about what was actually made with these pallets, when the shower is over.

How I Run... Seriously

2012-01-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

Ever wonder how I run? It is pretty funny, let me tell you. On the day of the Disney marathon, this comic strip came out and it is EXACTLY how I am as a runner with my ear buds in. Enjoy!

Disney Marathon Take-Away

2012-01-12T11:10:00.000-05:00

Having completed my first marathon this weekend, I thought it would be fitting to share what I learned (if you want to read about the marathon, click here). Mostly, this post is for me as a reminder to firmly, but kindly, tell Karen she is out of her mind whenever she tries to talk me into another one (hehehe!), but it is also a way to publicly say thank you to several people who helped me along the way.

Karen and I at the Disney Marathon Expo the day before the run.

Here are the things I am taking away from this experience.
1. I can accomplish something I think is unattainable. If you know me in real life, and talked with me any time during the training process, you know that I did not think I could do it. Nope. Not me. I loathed the training! Mostly because I had a mental block about this unsurmountable task that faced me on January 8th, 2012. But despite my injuries, I completed 26.2 miles. Am I proud of how long it took? No, but I could not be happier that I accomplished something that was so huge to me. I really didn't think I would be able to finish leading up the race, but when I started, I knew I would talk across that finish line and wear a medal for it. I am extremely proud of myself and feel confident about my abilities. I'm going to need this confidence as we complete this adoption in the next couple of years.

2. I am most proud of the fact that I honored my family by not seriously injuring myself AND completing the marathon. Because of my shin splints, knee injury and back spasms, we really didn't know how long I would actually be able to run. I ran as long as I could, knowing that I had many more miles ahead of me and then I simply walked the rest. The time didn't matter to me, because I knew that the day after the race I would be responsible for my family. But I am so proud of myself for finishing!

3. Karen is a rock star, and I am lucky to have such a strong friend. Having trained at intervals of 4 minutes running/1 minute walking, at the actual race, Karen ran straight through, taking a stretch break in the line to take pictures with all the Disney characters only. She is super hardcore, because she trained in Maryland, where it was snowing in October and bitterly freezing for most of her runs. And there were hills, people! If all that wasn't enough, she came to Florida on antibiotics for bronchitis! I always knew she had a lot strength, but this adventure really stood out as a testament to her amazing abilities and her mental fortitude. And she is planning on doing more marathons! But don't worry. She is also a funner like me!

4. I am truly blessed with many people who love and care for me dearly. My husband would encourage me and watch our kids while I ran and pamper me when I injured myself. My brother and sister-in-law gave me advice, gear and a training schedule to help me accomplish this goal. My friend, Sabes warned me of the injuries that could happen after the race from personal experience. And of course, I had The Running Club (aka Karen), giving me a swift kick in the pants when I was slacking on my training. I was surrounded by people who encouraged and supported me through this. Thank you to all of you!

5. I don't hate running! After the race was completed, I said I would NEVER do a marathon again. As the soreness wears off, I now see the appeal of racing and I am thinking about another race this year. Don't worry! That was my only marathon until my kids are out of the house! But a 1/2 marathon is totally attainable. And Craig might just join me, but I think I have a little more convincing to do. For now, we are both running together once a week with the kids in the jogging stroller and running separately as well. And I am going back to Zumba, because, boy! have I missed it. And Karen will totally rub this in my face! She told me this would happen, and she is right. I'm sure we will race together again and this time, I am going to keep up with her!

Here are some pictures of people I want to thank.

Thank you, Karen for talking me into this crazy adventure. I wouldn't have loved to hate it with anyone else!

Thank you, Craig for supporting me and Karen through this crazy idea! I truly couldn't have done it without you.

Thank you, Asher for being my biggest fan!

Thank you, Alethea for your hugs and kisses after a long run!

Thank you, Ben and Drew for all your advice, training and gear! You are the best running coaches a girl who doesn't run could have!

I'm a Marathon "FUNNER!"

2012-01-11T10:09:00.003-05:00

This past weekend I did a very crazy thing with my best friend, Karen.

I ran a marathon.

Just let that reality settle for a moment.
Me. Marathon.
Me. Marathon.
(To read about my 1/2 marathon run, click here.)

Doesn't that sound strange to you? I just got off of the phone with someone who knows me through church and they commented that they didn't even know I ran! I wanted to laugh when they said that, because that is a true reality. Until this marathon training, I didn't run. Most other runners are pretty identifiable. They run. Not this runner. You might notice that this blog is not titled "The Running Mom" or "Marathon Mom" for a good reason. I don't really run, which is why I invented a new title for myself.

FUNNER {a fun-runner; someone who runs for fun, as a life experience}

When Karen and I went to purchase our 26.2 bumper stickers after the marathon, we talked about all the pictures we took and the real runners at the store looked at us appalled. It was obvious that we weren't real runners, because a real runner would NEVER stop running to take a picture. The purpose of running is to get a better time and stopping for any reason besides necessity would be ludicrous. Hence, why I am a funner.

Here is the story of the Disney Marathon 

on Sunday, January 8th in pictures.

Breakfast at 4:30 in the morning. We were up at 3AM to get to the race.

Ummm... there were WAY more people then I thought there would be. 14,000 more!

In corral "F" ready to go!

Oh, the port-a-potty! Hundreds of them!


Bibs are attached and we are about to start.

And we are off!

Fireworks were set off to signify the start of every corral. It was awesome!

The starting line!

And we are running!


Running through Epcot and stopped at the first photo opportunity.

We parted ways at 8 miles, so we took a picture together to prove we actually did run together.

Running through Magic Kingdom.

Who knew I would run through Wonderland!

Cinderella's Castle!!!

I just ran through the castle! So cool!!!

I had to stop to get a picture with Marry Poppins!

Half way point! Only 13.1 miles to go and I was feeling great!

Running through Animal Kingdom.

Minnie!!!

Mickey!!!

This was the farthest I had run... so far!

There were TONS of supports and volunteers cheering us on. This was the best sign I saw.

Yep. That was my view all day. The road and the runners.

20 miles! Getting close!!!

I had to get a picture with the Army man, having grown up in the Army.

Running through Hollywood Studios.

Yep. More running.

I took this picture for Craig, my husband because we went here on our honeymoon.

Only .2 more miles to go!!!!!

And I saw the finish line!

And I'm done!!!!

You can see the finish line in the background and I have my metal!

And then I found Karen and we took a picture together.

I will write a wrap-up post about what I learned and who I want to thank and if I will ever run again, but I will save that for another day. This funner needs to do some laundry!

Adoption Fundraiser #1

2012-01-05T10:59:00.001-05:00

Happy 2012!!!

We have hit the ground running here. Literally! This weekend I run my first ever marathon. I am honestly still in denial that it is THIS weekend with my back problems this week, but don't worry. I am going to take it easy and stop if pain sets in while trying to accomplish this huge goal! My best friend, Karen is flying in tomorrow and we are headed to Disney on Saturday to pick up our packets for the weekend. It is going to be exciting and you better believe there will be a blog post about this crazy adventure!

Thank you to everyone who has donated money to our Ugandan adoption fund!!! So far, you all have donated $205!!! We are elated by your generosity!!! Thank you for blessing our family! We are one step closer to reaching our fundraising goal to begin our home study and dossier! Thanks to you, we only need to raise $3,395 now. Hooray! (If you missed it, read about our adoption here.)

And now it is time to begin our first fundraiser with a YARD SALE! Yep. We are doing the old fashion sell-all-of-your-junk-because-it-is-someone-else's-treasure thing. But we need your help!

Here are the ways you can help:

1. Could you look around your house and do some post-holiday purging? Would you be willing to donate unused furniture, toys, baby/kid stuff, old bikes, or any other items you aren't using to us? All of the items will be sold at the yard sale to add to our adoption fund. Whatever doesn't sell will be donated to a charity. 

2. Would you be willing to help price and sort items? I am looking for a couple of people who would be willing to help us go through the donated items and price them the weeks leading up to the sale. No previous experience required (especially because I have NEVER held my own yard sale!)!

3. Are you available to help work the yard sale? We need people to help manage, what we hope, is a HUGE yard sale. Talk to the people coming, sell items, help put things in people's cars after they purchase, etc. Since we have 2 little kids, we would love extra adults to help us on the day of the sale.

And when is this amazing yard sale taking place, you ask?

Barber Adoption Fundraiser Yard Sale

Saturday, February 25th

8AM-2PM

And most importantly, we need your prayers. This is a large undertaking to pursue international adoption and to add two more family members to our family. We need our friends, family and even strangers to support us through prayer. Thanks for being in our corner!

Back Burner Idea {ADOPTION}

2011-12-15T16:53:00.000-05:00

My mentor in college, Alison Rutland, told me she always had an idea brewing on the back burner. Her whole life she was always dreaming, always planning, always thinking about what might happen if her current project ended. She wasn't trying to be negative and she wasn't a discontented person by any means. Mrs. Rutland understood that life changes. Things don't stay the same. Projects come to completion. People move away. Money no longer exists for what you were working on. The list could be a mile long for all the reasons something in your life changes. That isn't the point to figure out the real reason something ended, but a chance to move onto the next thing. It was time to dust off that back burner idea and start working on making it a reality. Mrs. Rutland's project that I worked with her on ended several years ago, and she is living in another state working on another back burner project.

My whole life I have made back burner projects:

-Own a pet monkey

-Rearrange by bedroom 

-Become a missionary to Africa

-Transition to 80% raw food diet

-Finish college

-Become a professional photographer

-Recover my couch

-Complete every day of the advent calender

Some of these projects have happened, some have been started but not completed, and some are still ideas for the future. If you have been my friend for more then a month, you will notice this trend. I always seem to have a new idea, am researching new things and excited about a new adventure. My personality is goal oriented and I enjoy the challenge of a new project! Mrs. Rutland's "Back Burner Concept" is a perfect match for me!

Well, we are working on another one of my back burner ideas and I am ecstatic!!!

{...ADOPTION...}

I've had this idea since I was very young. Some girls dream of the wedding, or being moms, and I dreamt of adopting. I always wanted to have children that DIDN'T resemble me. I wanted to have children with dark skin, dark eyes and dark, natural hair. Well, that idea is going to become a reality in the next couple of years! (Don't get me wrong, I love my blonde haired, blue eyed, fair skinned kids as well!)

Craig and I have decided to expand our family to include two more children. After two emergency c-sections, we are done with the whole pregnancy thing. Our heart has always been for adoption, because there are kids out there that need homes, and we feel our hearts are big enough to love a couple more little bundles. (And yes, we are a little crazy to consider adding 2 more kids with our homegrown kids being as young as they are, but this is our life and we want to.)

Our first plan was to adopt a sibling pair locally, taking them out of the foster care system. We were signed up for our MAPP classes and ready to begin everything in January. The problem was, the median age of the children that need families right now is 9 years old. We aren't willing to change the birth order of our family. There are many reasons for this, and I'll probably write another post about that at another time, but a 9 year old doesn't fit into our homegrown birth order right now. When we received our MAPP registration in the mail, we knew we needed to cancel and think about another alternative.

And that is where my BACK BURNER idea came in. (If you missed it, I wrote about my desire to adopt here.) We have made the decision to adopt a boy AND a girl from the country of Uganda! My heart is so filled with joy at this thought! This is what my heart has desired for many, many years and we are going to make that a reality, with God's help!

Photo by Emily Rose Portraits

And that is where you all come in!

Adoption is a pricey process. Well, so is have 2 emergency c-sections, for that mater! Anyway, we need to raise $3,500 to begin our homestudy and dossier process. After these are complete, we can apply for grants and adoption interest free loans to pay for the rest of the adoption. We have a LONG list of fundraising ideas and believe me, you will be hearing about them, but for now we are starting by asking for your help.

We know adoption isn't possible for everyone, so we wonder if you would partner with us to make our adoption a reality. There are millions of children who need a family to love and care for them and you can help to give that to two children, by simply donating to our adoption fund. It is very simple!

To donate money to our adoption fund, click the "Donate" button on the top right side of the sidebar. Easy, peasy! Every amount is extremely appreciated! No amount is too small and no amount is too big!

Thanks for partnering with us in prayer, encouragement and financial support. This is just the beginning of a long process, but we look forward to where God will take us as we seek to add a couple more to the Barber brood!

It doesn't feel like Christmas

2011-12-12T09:37:00.000-05:00

It really doesn't feel like Christmas yet. Not to me, anyway. Sure, our tree is up and the decorations are all around. I am sending out Christmas cards and holiday music is playing through the house all day and night. Most of our Christmas presents have been purchased and wrapping is about to begin. We are doing the advent calender with crafts every day for the kids. There is just one little problem with the Christmas season this year: I can still wear summer dresses in the middle of December!!! That is a HUGE problem in my book!

When I am singing about the frightful weather outside and the toasty fire, I shouldn't be in sandals and a sleeveless top. Honestly, isn't that a problem for anyone else? How can I enjoy a warm cup of hot chocolate if I still have my air conditioning on? It feels odd to walk around the neighborhood to look at Christmas light displays wearing nothing more then a t-shirt and shorts. Seriously, Florida, didn't you get the memo? Christmas is fast approaching and you aren't even making a hint of an effort to cool things off! Couldn't you just be a little kinder and maybe cool it off to the 50's? Is that asking too much? This non-Floridian girl thinks not.

Pictures of "It's A Wonderful Life"

2011-12-09T10:05:00.000-05:00

I didn't post pictures of the actual show. Silly me! Here are actual pictures taken by the theatre of "It's A Wonderful Life." Click here to read more about the show.

"It's A Wonderful Life" and I'm in it!

2011-12-07T09:22:00.001-05:00

Well, the last time I posted I wrote about how busy I was. To be honest, not much has changed! I am still busy, busy, busy and now I am limping. Yep. Limping. I have injured myself and can't run more then 2 miles without being in excruciating pain. I think my body might be telling me to slow down...

But let's move on! This is a blog about a mom who acts, right? So, I think I will write about my acting. I am in the middle of a show, even though this blog would not let you in on that fact.

I am playing Mary Hatch in Theatre Winter Haven's production of "It's A Wonderful Life." The show runs from December 1st through the 18th and tomorrow we will start our second weekend of shows. The show is almost word-for-word taken from the movie, so fans of the film will love hearing their favorite icon lines said. Derek Wyatt plays George Bailey and is doing a wonderful job carrying a very technically difficult show. The scene and costume changes are vast and technically challenging. There is actually more of a show to watch backstage with all of the sets moving, props being handed out and costume changes happening right in the wings. If you enjoy the film, come watch our show! You won't be disappointed! And don't take my word for it. Check out the review we received in the Lakeland Ledger by clicking here.

Here are a couple of images the newspaper took several weeks ago before the sets and costumes were complete.

Photo credit- Michael Wilson

And what am I getting out of this production? I get to work with all of my friends! The director, Mark and stage manager, Kent are good friends of mine and it has been a blast creating this show with them. It is a lot of fun to be acting with Derek again after we played opposite each other in "Camelot" over 4 years ago. I could go on and on about working with Danny, Heidi, Katie and many others again and the chance to work with new friends. Every rehearsal contains a room full of friends and that had been a barrel of laughs.

Here are some pictures from the opening weekend of our show.

Our 2 assistant stage managers, Drew and Jeremy

Young Mary and Old Marry

Katie, Morgan and Me

The Bailey Family

College friend Nathan and I get to act together after several years

Me, Mark and Derek


Me and Eunie

The best part of the production is being in a show again with my sister-in-law, Drew! We met doing a production of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" and have not done a show together since. Drew and my brother, Ben are expecting their first child in March, which means Drew is 5 months pregnant as she plays Ruth Bailey in our production. AND she is our assistant stage manager. She is such a hard working lady!

Drew and I on opening night

Me, Ben and Drew


Ben, Drew and their bun-in-the-oven

Since life is so busy, I am looking forward to this show being over and the marathon being completed, but while I'm in the middle of all the craziness, I will just enjoy where I am and who I am with. Even in Bedford Falls!

Busy, busy, busy!

2011-11-11T10:33:00.001-05:00

It is very busy here. Super, de-duper-de busy. Seriously. Catching my breath this morning and neglecting the work I should be doing, so I don't go insane and it occurred to me that I hadn't blogged since October Dress Project ended. Opps!

Why am I so busy? Hmmmm.... let me list the ways:

1. Christmas Photos
2. Newborn Photos
3. Wedding Photos
4. "It's a Wonderful Life" rehearsals
5. Memorizing lines
6. Cooking freezer meals for the craziness still to come
7. And marathon training, which has been put on hold, just like this blog.

And I won't even write the normal activities that have been halted or slowed down due to this busy season, because that would just be a little depressing. Craig and I buckle down and cling to each other during these busy times in our lives. We are extremely intentional about connecting with one another amid the chaos of activity and juggling life. Fall is a busy time for my business as everyone gets their holiday card photos taken and whenever I do a show, it is busy. So when you combine them together, it has become the perfect storm for craziness. Monday was the breaking point this week, but things are better now.

I would like to post about Halloween, how rehearsals are going and the fact that I am loving the fact that I fit into size 4 pants again, but it will all have to wait. I miss you, blog.

October 27th, 28th, 20th, 30th, and 31st! - The end

2011-10-31T10:51:00.001-04:00

We are at the end of the ODP! For some of my friends, they will be relieved that they get to see me in something other then this black dress. This little black dress has served me well over the last 31 days, but I am looking forward to a different look starting November 1st. The black dress is pretty worn out. I ripped a hole in the bottom and actually tore another two large holes along the seam on the bottom ruffle just this weekend. It is looking pretty see-through as well, so I am looking forward to wearing something else on Tuesday!

Here are the last couple of days of the ODP.

October 27th-
Black Dress
Red Cardigan
Yellow T-shirt Bracelets
Green Argyle Shoes

October 28th-
Black Dress
Cream/Gold Cardigan
Pink Silk Scarf
Strappy Sandals

October 29th-
Black Dress
Black Cardigan
Pink Ugandan Bead Necklace
2 Jones Design Company Flowers
Black Flats

October 30th-
Black Dress
Brown/Tan Shirt (From my honeymoon)
Cream Snake Skin Belt
Pearl Necklace
Brown Peep Toe Heels

October 31st-
Black Dress
Black Cardigan
Magenta Tights
Heather Grey Hand Knit Scarf

Thoughts on ODP

This year, I am taking away my love of accessories. The scarfs, hats, necklaces and shoes made each day completely different from the other. It reminds me to invest in classic, well built pieces as the foundation of my wardrobe and then add trendy accessories as my budget allows. This will allow me to have versatility without a stuffed wardrobe. Simplicity is the best way to maximize your wallet and creativity. I realized I do not have a lot of variety in shoes, necklaces or earrings and plan on expanding that part of my closet.

I've also discovered something about my style: I really like dresses! I loved putting on a dress every day this month. The feeling of being feminine was a great addition to each day. I carry myself differently when wearing a dress and I feel more confident as a result. That confidence translates into beauty to my husband and I received many welcome compliments from Craig all month. When I am confident about what I am wearing and how I look, I am more attractive to my husband. Confidence = beauty (at least in the Barber household!)

My love of dresses has reminded me of my love of vintage. The 1940-1950's is my style era for a dressier look. For my casual look, I love the 1970's. Not having access to my modern wardrobe made me think more about how I wanted to look each day. As I was searching for ways to change the look of my black dress, I stumbled upon several vintage blogs and felt inspired. I should dress in a way that makes me feel beautiful. It shouldn't matter what the latest trends are, if some skirt toots my horn, I should wear it, because confidence = beauty. Time to start scouting out vintage finds!

This year I learned a lot from watching the other women who participated. I enjoyed seeing what everyone wore and how they made their outfits unique or just sported the same dress every day with little adaptation. Every women did it for a different reason, but there has been a sense of togetherness that I didn't feel last year. This project isn't for everyone, but I am grateful to the other women who did the project alongside me.

The biggest thing I took away from the ODP was a weight loss! Looking at myself every day, trying on different combinations of clothing and accessories made me take a good, hard look at the frame that all of these things were hanging on. I wasn't thrilled with what I saw, and decided that I couldn't complain anymore unless I actually did something about what I saw. It motivated me to cut back on my portion sizes and stop late night snacking and make running and exercise a bigger priority. Because of this mirror staring, I lost 7 pounds this month and I couldn't be more excited! Now only 5 more to go to get to my pre-kids weight!

Good-bye, October Dress Project until next year!

(Yep. I'll do it again next year!)

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-30T07:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween from our pumpkin patch to yours!

October 24th, 25th, 26th- Almost there!

2011-10-26T14:52:00.002-04:00

Only a couple more days and I am glad, because my dress is stretching out! The front has to be covered all the time with a shirt, scarf or sweater because of the sag. This cheap Ross purchase has not held up well, but I am glad that you can't see any stains that might be on it because it is black.

The last couple of days, I have been tweeting about my new obsession: vintage clothing. I have always been a vintage girl, but now I want to take it into my clothing. Since I am limited to my existent wardrobe and am not going to go out and buy anything clothing wise until next month, I decided to start fixing my hair in the 1930's, 40's and 50's style. And then today I got lazy. But I hope to keep it up to match my switch to an older era.

October 24th-
Black Dress
Lilac Top
Brown/Black/Tan Scarf
Cream Woven Belt
Brown Peep Toe Heels

October 25th-
Black Dress
White Ribbon
Red Polka Dot Scarf
Locket
Brown Ankle Boots

My sexy husband. He bought new clothes for the school year, and I just thought he looked pretty awesome and that I should share a picture of his hotness on the blog. He thought it was weird that I was taking a picture of him, but he is such a great husband that he indulged me!

October 26th-
Black Dress
Blue Pheasant Blouse
Premiere Brown Layered Necklace (Gift from Dawn Durrell)
White Silk Jones Design Company Flower
Brown Belt
Pearl Studs
Tan/Blue Boat Shoes

Necklace is a gift from my good friend Dawn. She stays with us a couple nights a week and came home with it as a gift. Love it!

Family Night Ideas

2011-10-26T14:09:00.000-04:00

Every couple of weeks we have a family night/outing. Sometimes we go somewhere exotic, but most nights we go for a picnic in the backyard or have a Family Movie Night. It is pretty simple: blankets on the floor, everyone in pj's, homemade popcorn in cool containers, and a Veggie Tales film. Bingo! Family Movie Night! As the kids get older, we will do more, but for now, we enjoy the simplicity of their excitement in doing something out of the ordinary as a family.

Here is a list of other ideas we are planning on doing and I hope they will inspire you to have your own Family Night this week. And please share your ideas in the comment section of the blog post. I'd love to hear how your family spends time together!

Ideas for Family Night

-International Night- Choose a country for that night. Make passports during the day so everyone can "travel" there that evening. Cook a dinner that features a side dish or an entire meal from that country's cuisine. Play music from the country while the night is happening. Find a traditional game, book or film from the country and do together after dinner. This can be done every couple of months with different countries.

-Camp In- Put sleeping bags on the living room floor and collect as many pillows and blankets as you can. Turn out all the lights and give everyone a flashlight. Make campfire banana splits and sing campfire songs. Make a glow-in-the-dark comet and play catch as everyone tells about their day.

-Unbirthday Party- Throw a birthday party for nobody, just for fun. Bake a cake, put up streamers and pin the tail on the donkey. Everyone gets to blow the candles out as you sing, "Happy unbirthday to nobody!" Wrap gifts you bought at after Christmas sales or on discount through out the year for a local homeless shelter or children's home. Consider donating old birthday decorations as well.

-Dance Party- Step aside, Richard Simmons! It is time to get our family groove on! Have everyone dress up in workout clothes or funny costumes, crank up the music and shake your groove thing. Not only will this be a lot of fun, it is a built in workout for the grown-ups! Use the kids as weights and lift and lunge to your favorite tunes.

Here are pictures from our first family movie night a month ago, just for fun.

{WARNING: This last part talks about TV not being beneficial to your child. If you are easily offended and use the TV on a regular basis, please skip this section.}

We don't watch a lot of television in my house for a family with preschoolers and I would encourage more parents to do this as well. The cost is high, but the payoff is even higher. We try to entertain each other in more creative ways then TV. My kids probably watch about 30 minutes to one hour once a week while I sort the organic produce that comes every Thursday. I don't see a lot of value in plopping them down in front of the TV daily for the purpose of getting things done (even though I have a great excuse to do so, because I am a business owner). Because my children are only 17 months apart, they actually get along very well and entertain one another for several hours at a time. My kids love books, structures made out of cardboard, buckets, and acorns. These things are their television. They don't know any different and they don't know what they are "missing out on" by not watching Sesame Street or Dora the Explorer or Wonder Pets. They have learned the old-fashion way of using their imagination to occupy themselves and they are better for it. My kids aren't unique in this ability and with a little encouragement, any kid can develop a deeper appreciation for their own imaginative world.

And that trickles over into our family time. Our kids never see us vegging in front of afternoon/evening TV. Before we got married we decided to not own a television for the first year of marriage. We wanted to spend that first year getting to know one another. It is has been seven years and we still don't own a television. Now, we will watch things on Netflix or Hulu once or twice a week after the kids are asleep, but it isn't a daily thing. Craig and I read books, magazines or newspapers while the kids quietly play during our after dinner time, knowing that we can't become too enthralled in our reading material because the kids often need our intervention in sibling affairs. I knit and Craig will play guitar while we have family jam sessions once a week as well. And we read a LOT together as a family. Reading out loud teaches many, many things to children and since Craig and I love books to begin with, it is a natural part of our family life. We are making wonderful memories on a daily basis that we will treasure for years to come all because we decided to minimize the amount of media that our family was exposed to. We know our children really well because we spend much of the day in face-to-face interaction and I am thankful for that relationship.

If any of you moms out their who are reading this do let their preschoolers watch TV every day, I would encourage you to change the norm in your household. Instead of turning on their favorite show, pull out play dough, or make paper dolls, or color some pages you printed off the internet, or have them build a town with wooden blocks. The world is there oyster! All you have to do is make the opportunity for them to experience it. It is harder to come up with activities to replace the stimulation of the television, but the rewards are worth it. A great blog I found to help this goal is "I Can Teach My Child!" Check it out and have fun with those kids!

(And if you want to know how I make it work by keeping TV out, just ask. I would be happy to share what our day is like and give you more ideas!)

October 21st, 22nd, 23rd- Weekend Fashion

2011-10-23T13:54:00.004-04:00

Now that the ODP is coming to a close, I am really focusing more on maximizing all of my wardrobe and accessories for these last couple of days. Inspired by this post, I am going to be pursuing my love of all things vintage in my wardrobe after this project is finished. My house reflects my love of old, re-purposed items, but it is time for my clothing to find inspiration from that as well.

On Friday, I tied a silk scarf around my head, clipped a flower around it and it reminded me of the 1960's. Why not start adding the vintage inspiration now with what I have?

October 21st-
Black Dress
Turquoise Sweater
Brown Silk Scarf
Jones Design Company Wool Flower
Brown/Gold Snake Skin Kitten Heels

Scarf from my mother-in-law, Connie.

Postcard necklace from my sister-in-law. Love it!

I also wore the outfit this way for the first part of the day, because my grandmother-in-law gave me this handmade scarf. Isn't it beautiful? The colors matched too perfectly not to wear it.

On Saturday, I woke up and the weather was chilly. Hooray! I was able to wear my favorite vintage winter coat! I picked up this beauty at a thrift store in Germany and I L.O.V.E it! I still need to get new buttons for it, because some of them are broken, but I wear it with pride anyway. And the scarf is a pashmina from India. My parents bought it for me as a Christmas present several years ago and the proceeds of the scarf went to help free girls trapped in the sex trade industry. It is one of my favorite articles of clothing for that very reason.

October 22nd-
Black Dress
Purple Cardigan
Purple/Orange Pashmina
White Tights
Black Flats

And today for church, I wore a scarf that a friend, Kim from MOPS bought me as a thank you gift for being the table leader that year. Love it! I really do love that a lot of accessories are gifts from friends and family. Sometimes I think that other people know my style better then I do!


October 23rd- Black Dress White T-shirt Blue Floral Scarf Tan Boots Red/Brown Earings

Thoughts on the dress-

Only 8 more days in this dress and I had the wildest idea as I woke up this morning: What if I wore a dress or skirt every day for 365 days? Not the same one every day, but made the commitment to not wear pants for an entire year? I am not going to do it, but it got me thinking about how I really have enjoyed the feminine charm of wearing a dress every day. I think I carry myself differently when I am not wearing pants and I like that. It will be my aim to incorporate more dresses and skirts on a regular basis in the days to come. And in Florida, we can get away with it year round!

All Things Pumpkin

2011-10-21T07:00:00.000-04:00

A story told with pictures of the journey of the pumpkin in the life of the Barber family.

October 18th, 19th, 20th- Fall is starting

2011-10-20T11:22:00.000-04:00

I can finally wear more layers!

October 18th-
Black Dress
Leggings
Polka Dot Rain Books
Vintage Bird Pendant
Rain Hat

October 19th-
Black Dress
Blue Jean Jacket
Paisley Scarf
Black Headband
Blue Sandals

October 20th-
Black Dress
Charcoal Sweater
Cream Flower Pin
Yellow Flats

Thoughts on the dress-

There is a hole in my dress. Have I told you that? It is in the center at the bottom, but I totally ripped a hole in it last week. Oh well! Thankfully it is not the grease spots I had last year! Now that the weather has turned colder, I am enjoying styling it again. There are so many more options now that we are not in the 80's. I have way too many cold weather clothes for a Florida girl. Seriously. I own five pea coats. Not joking. Who needs those when the median temp is 79 degrees? I love them and can't part with them, though, just in case we move up north in the next couple of years. Also, two of them are vintage, one is from Germany and another is just plain unique. None of them are leaving! Doing the ODP has helped remind me that I do not need as many clothes as I think I do. Several staple, quality pieces and fun accessories are all I really need to make a stylish and versatile wardrobe. What a great lesson to re-learn!

Half Marathon for Practice

2011-10-20T10:56:00.001-04:00

Tuesday night I did something I never thought I would do. Ever. I mean, never, ever, ever. Not in a million, trillion years. Not even if I was forced a gun point. O.K. Maybe then. Running 13.1 miles was just a practice run for me. It's crazy that I even typed that. Seriously, unbelievably crazy. I am in shock this morning. Shock and a little bit of soreness. Let me tell you how it went.

Taken after I finished my run. Don't you love how I match?

I agreed to do a marathon and you can read all about the why here.

Yesterday was the only day I could fit in my running such a distance because I am super busy. This weekend when I should have run, I had eight different photo shoots to do, and being sore could not be a part of my work. Monday and Wednesday night, I Zumba, and I didn't want to give that up. Thursday and Friday I have rehearsal, so Tuesday was the only night to run.

To say I was nervous would be an understatement. I was terrified to embark on this adventure just for a practice run. I wasn't running in a race and there would be no cheering section at the end when I received my metal. I was alone. Just me and the pavement. And the rain. Did I mention it was raining? Yep. All 13.1 miles it was sprinkling, pouring or somewhere in the middle. I was drrrrrrenched when I got home!

I wrapped my watch that I use for my interval training in a plastic bag to protect if from the rain.

Let me back track and start from the beginning. I had to make a decision: Run in the rain or Run at the YMCA. I called the YMCA, which we have a membership to, and asked if they would make an exception to allow me to run longer then the 30 minute limit. They said they would, which was wonderfully sweet of them, but running on a treadmill for three hours did not appeal to me on any level. So, I met Craig at Lake Hollingsworth with the kids fast asleep and began to run.

I really enjoyed my run! There were only a handful of people in the 2+ hours I ran around the lake and that was just fine with me. I sang out loud with my Ipod. I played the air guitar a couple of times and did a couple of Zumba dance moves as I ran. It was a blast and I am sure it was very entertaining to see me for all of the cars that passed by at five o'clock!

I also wrapped my Ipod and Nike+ to make sure everything would stay dry.

I started to ache around mile 9, and the last 100 meters was pretty hard. But I did it! Totally soaked, but with a smile on my face because I accomplished something I never thought possible. What a feeling! No wonder people enjoy long distance running! I am still not so sure about running an entire marathon, but I will get there one practice run at a time.

This is what I wear after my run, to keep my muscles warm as I recover.

Duelin' Divas 2011

2011-10-20T07:00:00.000-04:00

For the last three years I have been asked to perform in Theatre Winter Haven's Duelin' Divas FUNraiser. The purpose is to raise money for the theatre by having past actresses come and sing two songs of their choice in a competition to see who can raise the most money. Whoever raises the most money is crowned Diva for the year and can gloat and wear her tiara for days without any questions asked.

Until this year, I have declined participating. Even though I am a singer, I do not love to sing for the sake of performance. I have done events like this in the past for other theatres, but really never enjoyed the experience. For me, theatre is all about the craft, the storytelling, the chance to learn about the another world. None of those things can be found in a concert style show. So, for some odd reason I put aside my feelings and said yes, when I was asked this year. Even though it was stressful, I was a nervous wreck and I felt under-prepared, I performed. Oh, and I did I mention when had to do a choreographed number with singing, dancing and boas?

I sang a song from one of my favorite shows, "Into the Woods." I played the Baker's Wife over 6 years ago and thought re-singing "Moments in the Woods" would be a perfect song to act and sing. It was tremendously fun, even though I did mess up the lyrics and have to improvise.

The other song I sang just for me. I've always loved "Far From the Home I Love" from "Fiddler on the Roof," but I have outgrown that role. I chose to sing it just so I could say I did. I should have known my lyrics better then I did, but I promise to never do something like this again!

There were three wonderful parts of the evening.

1. When I was finished singing!
2. When Eric and Mark (2 men I have played opposite) sang a love song to Larry (pictured above).
3. When Katrina Ploof won title of Diva for the year! She is an extremely talented lady in many capacities, and I was elated that the audience recognized her extraordinary gifts.

The best part of the evening was when the entire thing was over! Four friends from outside of the theatre came to watch and it was great to just sit in the theatre, eating dessert and chatting away. After I collected all of my things, some of the actors from Lakeland all headed to Applebees in Lakeland to sit and relax. It was the best conversation I have had with this crowd and singing and the stress would all be worth it just for that conversation.

Costume Sale Purchases

2011-10-18T13:33:00.001-04:00

My husband and I went to a Costume Sale this past Saturday at TWH. We had a blast! I went looking for costumes and vintage finds, while Craig went for costumes for his classroom. He has the most amazing job and almost everyday he is excited about what he does. This puts a big ol' smile on my face to know that he loves what he does for a living. It makes for a happy husband and a happy life. {Smile} He teaches instructional television to middle school students. Every day they air a news show for the school with news anchors, a theme, packages and goofy clips. Craig is always looking for fun props, costumes and wigs to help with creative inspiration for his students.

Well, we hit the jackpot when we went to the sale! Craig bought $30 worth of wigs, a couple of hats and a news caster get up. I found a couple of dresses that will work for Halloween costumes or other costume type events that come up, which happens more often then you would think. After the kids were in bed, we had a fashion show and tried on all of the goofy stuff we bought. It was a blast to be silly and take pictures just for the sake of fun.

Here we are in all of the costumes, wigs, hats and all of our silliness. Enjoy!

October 14th, 15th, 16th- Weekend Recap

2011-10-18T09:55:00.004-04:00

Pictures from the weekend!

October 14th-
Black Dress
Green/Blue scarf
White Snake Skin Belt
Blue/Tan Boat Shoes

October 15th-
Black Dress
Blue T-shirt
Vintage Hat
Black Necklace
Black Flats

October 16th-
Black Dress
Burgundy Sweater
Blue/White Tie with Tan flower
Brown/Turquoise Earings
Brown Flats

Thoughts for this Week

I am going to confess that I am over the project. I feel creatively zapped and I do not have the mental energy to invest in thinking up adorable outfits. That is where I am. My mind is on the 2 weddings and 8 holiday mini-shoots I need to edit, the new show I am in and the memorization that goes with that, and making freezer meals for my family during this busy time. Oh yeah! And training for my marathon! I am running 13 miles tonight. Yikes! So, the dress and trying to make it cute are on the bottom of my list. I didn't even put it on yesterday! I stayed in my pj's until I went to work out and then came home and did piles of dishes from making freezer meals. If I had the mental energy right now, I know I would love it, but I am not there and haven't been for the last couple of days. Don't worry, I am going to wear the dress today and will post a picture later.

October 13th- Men's Shirt Re-do

2011-10-13T11:28:00.002-04:00

Today I am wearing my dress. Again. Shocked, aren't you?

I decided to be a little daring with my clothing today. I saw a video on how to turn a man's collared shirt into a woman's dress simply by twisting and buttoning and tying it in several different ways. I was captivated at this ingenuity and immediately wanted to do it!

There were a couple of hang ups:

1. I am not a model, therefore it won't look the same.
2. I am a modest person and can't wear ONLY a man's shirt.
3. My husband and I are the same height, so his clothes are just a little bit bigger, limiting how many ways I can wear the shirt.

Putting those issues aside, I dove it and tried it. Here it is!

October 13th-
Black Dress
Craig's Blue Flower Pearl Button Shirt
Pearl and Chain Necklace
Yellow Flats

Interesting, right? I don't love it, love it, but it intrigues me enough to do it for one day. Isn't what this whole thing is about? Trying new things and piecing together things you already own? Here is the video that inspired me.

And this is the outfit I am wearing while sorting veggies today. Have to be casual about it!

A sordid past

2011-10-13T09:45:00.000-04:00

There was a time in my life that I didn't have this joy.

That life was bleak.

That I was depressed.

That my life had a different outcome.

I don't often share this part of my life, because it is embarrassing.
Because it makes me look bad.
Because the truth in my folly is too apparent.
Because I would rather have everyone know me as I am now.

But the time has come to share.
There was a time when I stopped eating, to gain control.
There was a time when I tried to end my life.
There was a time that the love of another was my only desire.

And I cursed God.

That is not the end of my story, but only the darkest spot.
   Thankfully, my parents brought be back to life.
    Thankfully, God did not curse me back.
     Thankfully, I am not the sum of my mistakes.

I am a new creation in Christ!
   Joy has replaced depression.
    Contentment is replacing uncontrolled desire.
     Humility is replacing pride.

I am a work in progress.
   I promise to never return to the way I was.
    I promise to never forget who I am without Christ.
     I promise to share my past, so others can find this joy.

October 10th, 11th, and 12th- Shows Galore

2011-10-12T15:16:00.002-04:00

After a fun filled business trip, I am home preparing for two different shows. I am performing in Duelin' Divas for the first time. It is a competition of various actresses from throughout the years. All of us sing two songs and people "vote" on who is the best diva by donating money to the theatre. The lady to raise the most money for the theatre is crowned the winning diva for the year. I have been asked every year to participate, but I really don't enjoy singing for the sake of singing alone. I know this helps the theatre raise money, but I prefer to act instead of just singing. It makes me so nervous!

Here is a poster for the event. Can you find me?

I am also preparing to be in "It's a Wonderful Life" which runs from December 1st-18th. I am cast as Mary (Hatch) Bailey and I am thrilled! I was in the show as ensemble with my Dad playing George Bailey 10 years ago. It will be fun to do it again. This show feels like the holidays, and I am very excited to be doing my first straight play since "Antigone." My first rehearsal is Friday and I am reading over my script in my spare moments between editing photos, engaging the kids and keeping up with the housework.

And with all of that I am still doing the ODP! Here are my dresses for the past 3 days. I don't have many thoughts to share because my brain is going a million miles a minute in every direction and the stress levels are rising. Enjoy the pictures!

October 10th-
Black Dress
Blue Cardigan
Purple Beaded Necklace
Black Ballet Flats

October 11th-
Black Dress
Light Pink Lace Top
Cream Belt
White Stockings
Black Ballet Flats

October 12th-
Black Dress
Plaid Scarf
Brown Belt
Leather Boots
Turquoise and Tan Earrings

Asher wanted to wear my new boots.

October 7th, 8th and 9th- Beach Trip

2011-10-10T14:39:00.002-04:00

I had the priveledge of photographing a wedding in Pensacola Beach this weekend. My mom was originally going to come with me, but different things in her life left her unavailable to attend. I had a hotel room with and extra bed and randomly asked my friends Sabes to join me. We had a great time relaxing and enjoying being away from our kids. Both of us are participating in the ODP, so that made it easy to pack and decide what to wear. Here are my outfits for the days I was gone.

October 7th-
Black Dress
Fuchsia Shirt
Tan Vest
Family Photo Necklace
Black Head band with bow
Strappy sandals

October 8th-
Black Dress
White cardigan (Sabe's)
Green polka dot scarf
Purple aviator sunglasses

October 9th-
Black dress
White t-shirt necklace
Jane Austen straw hat
Red belt

I must confess that my first day back home, I have not put on my dress yet! It is the washer and I plan on wearing it to rehearsal tonight.

Here are another couple of fun shots from the weekend.

October 6th- Produce Day

2011-10-06T19:39:00.002-04:00

Thursdays are produce days at my house. We stick around waiting all day for a big semi-trailer to pull up with pallets of fruits and veggies for me to sort to 18+ families every week. The perk: we get free produce for handing the contacting, sorting and depositing. It works out wonderfully for our family and we have fabulous food because of it. So, on Thursdays, I am usually wearing workout clothes because I get pretty sweaty sorting produce. Not today! Today I wore this.

October 6th-
Black Dress
Graphic Tea
Knit Cap
Argyle Shoes

Thoughts on Day 6:

I am preparing to go away for the weekend to photograph a wedding at the beach, so I will be wearing a bathing suit and cover-up for much of the time I am not working. I will put the black dress on every day, but I don't know if any super cute styles will be coming out of this weekend. I think it will be a wonderful weekend to relax and not having to figure out what to wear makes it even more relaxing!

October 5th- In the Mirror

2011-10-05T13:37:00.003-04:00

I am still not loosing weight. I ran 11 miles on Saturday and the weight is not coming off. I Zumba twice a week. I have cut back on portions. I am drinking more water. What else could I do besides stop eating and work out for 10 hours a day. AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! I am so frustrated!!!!!!! And since this is my blog and I am writing it for myself, I thought I would vent... again.... because I can.

Alright, enough about my complaining. Here is my outfit for today. I took my own picture, but wasn't happy with any of them alone, so I included all of them. Zumba is totally happening before call backs tonight, so I knew I couldn't wait to have Craig take a picture.. And another totally random thought, now that the ODP has started, I haven't blogged a normal post! Time to do that! Oh, wait. Too much to do! Maybe after I get back from my business trip this weekend: destination wedding in Pensacola! Can you tell I am pretty scattered and have consumed too much caffeine today?

October 5th-
Black Dress
Charcoal button up top
Yellow skinny belt
Black heels
Burnt red earrings

Thoughts on Day 5

I washed the dress for the first time last night: hand wash in the sink, hang to dry. It wasn't dry this morning when I went to put it on! Into the dryer it went, which is not something I like to do since I gets so much wear, but I needed to run errands. I felt like a rock star walking around in my cute little outfit with my rockin' heels while grocery shopping. Stylin' momma, watch out! After this month is over, I am determined to purchase a couple more pairs of heels because I LOVE the way they make me feel!

And now it is time to clean the bathroom! Without the dress, of course.

October 4th

2011-10-04T15:44:00.002-04:00

Hello! It is the 4th day in the same dress. And I still love my dress! Give in another couple of weeks and I might feel differently.

Thought on Day 4:

The best part of the ODP is seeing all of the other girl's outfits and how they accessorized! It truly is inspiring me to be more creative. Yesterday, I totally wore an outfit I wore last year because I was feeling lazy, but after looking at my friend's photos, it motivated me to try harder and be a little more creative. I think today I did that for a fun day at the park. I am going to need to plan these outfits out a little bit better to make sure I keep up with my fashionable friends!

October 4th-
Black dress
Red plaid shirt
Postcard charm necklace
Brown shoes
Brown cap

Wrapped Belt

2011-10-03T15:57:00.001-04:00

My friend Sabes asked if I would post a video about how I made my belt from yesterday's photo with a scarf and a belt. I am not video savvy at all, even though that is what my husband does for a living! Here is my sad little video, but I hope it helps to inspire those who want to try different looks with the same items they have.

October 2nd and 3rd

2011-10-03T09:24:00.002-04:00

I have not washed the dress yet, but plan to tonight after auditions for "It's a Wonderful Life." The more the dress is washed, the more the fibers of the gown break down, and the more the fibers break down, the rattier the dress looks. Don't worry! I will make sure the dress doesn't stink, but we wash our clothing far more then it is necessary. I know I do!

And yes, you did read that correctly. I will be auditioning for a show wearing my black dress tonight. And if I am cast, I will be wearing this same black dress for every rehearsal through the end of the month. It will probably need to be washed more frequently if I have a lot of rehearsals, which will put more wear on the dress. That is the price one must pay for the art of theatre, I guess. Hopefully this little black beauty will last all 31 days!

October 2nd-
Black dress
Jones flower headband
Floral scarf wrapped around belt
Strappy sandals
Purple Italian charm necklace

Thoughts on Day 2 and 3:

That is always the fear when committing to wear the same dress all month. What if something happens to the dress? Do I muscle through and keep wearing it? Can I repair it? What if it starts looking really worn? All of these are legitimate concerns, but that is one of the wonderful things about this project. In our disposable world, we purchase clothing very easily. It is inexpensive and we usually treat our everyday clothes as such. I rarely wear an apron when cooking because I know that if something happens to the outfit I am wearing, I can easily purchase another one. Not so when you have committed to wearing the same dress for 31 days straight. Last year I cooked without an apron and had grease stains on my dress only a couple days into the project. I muscled through and wore it the whole time, but I didn't really have anywhere to be. In times past, clothing was harder to come by and people were more careful with the articles of clothing they did possess. I wish I had the mentality about my clothing. Now is my chance to be a better steward with this one dress and hopefully that will bleed into my attitude about all of my possessions over the next 28 days.

October 3rd-
Black dress
Indigo stripped cardigan
Long black necklace
Boat shoes

October 1st- Fall is Here!

2011-10-01T19:10:00.000-04:00

Today is the first day of October, which means the October Dress Project has officially started and we are celebrating fall in full force in the Barber house. Pumpkin spiced lattes, more park trips, nutmeg, fall decorations are all on the brain here in 80 degree Florida weather. This might not seem very fall-ish weather to my northern friends, but it feels so much nicer then our usual 96 degree weather! The humidity is almost a distant memory and I relish this season in Florida: the Not-as-hot-as-summer-but not-really-fall season. It is a fabulous time of year, but I am not sure it is worth the other 6 months of horribly hot conditions.

Here is my picture of today's ODP (October Dress Project). We had our Christmas pictures today with Nate Mundell Photography, my friend Ida's husband, so I dressed to match everyone else's outfits. We all looked pretty awesome, but you will have to wait to see all of our photos.

Black Dress
Purple leggings
Grey sweater
Chartreuse neclace
Black ballet flats

And while cooking, this is my look, thanks to my friend, Sabes. Last year I did not wear an apron, which resulted in stains on my dress that could not be removed just a couple of days into the project. This year, it will apron city every time I enter the kitchen thanks to Sabes advice. If you want one like mine, my hubby bought it here. They have lots of adorable ones and it has served me well over the last couple of years.

Thoughts on Day 1:

This dress is extremely comfortable and I loved wearing it! I felt very feminine, yet relaxed in it and thought to myself, "Why don't I wear dresses more often?" The leggings helped to make our photo shoot and trip to the park easier, and I wish I had invested in a couple more colors before the month began. Oh well! It is going to be a fun adventure!

Since we are super excited about fall at my house, I thought I would share a few photos of my fall decorations, just to be festive! All items are homemade, so I {heart} them even more!

Made last year at Amy's Fall Creations Class

Handmade soap from a local merchant at the downtown farmer's market

My own creative display and paper creation in a frame.

Coffee filter wreath thanks to Jones Design Company

Fall really is my favorite season and we just try to clothes our eyes, wish upon a star and dream that we can see leaving changing colors, smell the crisp air and see the ripening apples on the trees. Until we actually live up north, we will continue to dream and make fall for ourselves here in sunny Florida.

October Dress Project Photo Shoot 2011

2011-09-30T01:28:00.000-04:00

Tonight, a group of ladies who are committing to the October Dress Project (read about it here and here) who live in my town got together for a photo shoot to kick start our month long journey of wearing the same dress every single day. We had a blast! Thank you, Nate Mundell Photography for taking our pictures!

We started the shoot with the four girls who did it last year and are participating again this year: me, Jennifer, Ida and Cathy (who all have fabulous blogs that you can visit by clicking their name). Here are our pictures.

And then we had everyone join in the photos. Not all of the ladies who are participating locally were able to come, but we did have a great turn out. It is so exciting to have all of these new ladies joining us this year! We start on Saturday and I couldn't be more excited!!! And it was just fun to be on the other side of the lens for a change! (Side note, Nate Mundell Photography will also be taking our family photos on Saturday morning for our Christmas photo and I am super excited about that as well! Can you tell I am just excited about life?)

It really is encouraging to know that there are many women who are going to take on this zany challenge and that while we are doing it by ourselves, we truly have one another right along side us.

Adoption?

2011-09-28T23:07:00.002-04:00

This is the follow-up to this post.

My heart has always been in Africa. Ever since I was a little girl I was always intrigued with the safari, giraffes, the dark skin and white teeth of the continent of Africa. I may have also been swayed towards Africa because I had a pen pal from there, Lilian Njuguna from Kenya, Africa. A woman from my church had gone to Kenya as a missionary and connected some of the girls in the school she was teaching at to some of the kids at my church. It was exciting and exotic to receive post with beautifully colored stamps and Lilian's unique script. I wish I still had one of her letters, but I know they are long gone now. Writing to Lilian helped my 5th grade brain expand to understand that the world did not just include my little town. The world was much more vast and diverse then I could fathom.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I don't know when the desire to adopt became a part of my life, but I don't remember it not being there. Somewhere deep inside me I knew that I would one day, whether or not I could have children myself. This idea of adoption was never presented to be directly and I did not grow up knowing any families who had adopted, but nevertheless, it was in my brain. And even though I have two beautiful children of my own, the desire to adopt has not left and I don't think it will ever leave.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Craig and I would like more children. Even though some days are hard and our frustration is through the roof, we still want more kids. We've talked about the possibility of having more children ourselves, but after two emergency c-sections, the risk is greater to try for another child. A third c-section is a very risky procedure, so we have talked about the idea of having a home birth with a midwife attending the VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean). I have done a lot of reading and am well informed about the risks and the benefits, so know that we are not going to do anything rash or dangerous for me or a future baby. But our hesitions are these:

I HATE being pregnant!
I am finally loosing the last of my baby fat, 2 years later.
We are not sure we are alright with another c-section if the VBAC is unsuccessful.
Our insurance doesn't cover pregnancy or birth.
There are already kids here in central Florida that need parents.
And I'm an actress! There aren't many parts for pregnant ladies!

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

We have contacted several agencies about adopting and are leaning towards adopting children from the foster care system. Those children are stuck and need a way out. We have a home, food, and love. Why can't God use us in this capacity like God has used Francis Chan's downsized home? I am not naive thinking that it will all be flowers and smiles during the process. The children that are in foster care waiting to be adopted have come from horrible circumstances that I can not imagine. There will be baggage and obstacles along the way, but I can't imagine not responding to that need. We are not the wealthiest family, but our hearts are eager to give what we have to help others and if that means opening our doors to several children from other parents for the rest of their lives, then we are ready.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Me on the far right with the core group of students who lead the Invisible Children movement on campus.

In college, I was an activist for the Invisible Children. Based on a documentary about the war-torn nation of Uganda, Invisible Children was filmed by college students who began a movement to end night commuting. I became a part of the movement by raising awareness, money and support to help stop the vicious cycle of child soldiers. My heart broke when I saw the film and I could not stand by without doing everything I could. A friend of mine actually joined the Invisible Children team based on the work we were doing on our college campus. Unfortunately that season in my life did not allow me to help more, but it softened my heart even more to the people of Africa.

We all didn't speak for the day to promote the movie screening.

Art work done by James Cernero, which was later turned into buttons that people purchased to support the Invisible Children.

Our group with the actual Invisible Children team and their tour RV.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Today at the park, a mother was there with her two blond children and her two Ugandan children. Three of her kids were four years old and they all just warmed my heart. The little Ugandan boy kept saying to me, "Look at me! Are you looking? My mommy and daddy's names are mommy and daddy. We are eating pizza. Are you looking? Watch me!" My heart melted and I was charmed by his smile and warmth. His older sister gently told him to speak so that I could understand him instead of speaking Ugandan. I could understand him perfectly. He was speaking out of his exuberance for life and I was right there with him.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Maybe all of these things are connected. There might be a reason I have always wanted to adopt, always felt drawn to Africa, and now have a heart for the people of Uganda. We aren't doing anything about these connections today, but within the school year we are making a decision about the size and by what means our family will go from four to possibly eight. We are putting our faith into action and trusting God to lead us. If you see that my status update says I am flying to Africa, I'm sure you can guess what I am doing! Until then, we will continue to pray and think and dream about our bigger family, while enjoying and loving the one we already have.

Homemade Hot Chocolate

2011-09-28T13:33:00.003-04:00

We drink the most delectable warm beverage in the fall and winter. It is a special treat in our house, meaning we don't make it that often because it is a little pricey to make, but it is so tasty! It blows those little instant hot chocolate packets out of the water and we will never go back.

Everyone in the family approves. Just look at that chocolate mustache and goatee! This is a picture of him "savoring" his drink last night.

I found the recipe in my favorite crunchy, all-natural cookbook: Nourishing Traditions. It has fabulous recipes in there, but don't be surprised if you don't recognize all of the ingredients on the pages. She pulls from a wide variety of foods we quickly disregard in our SAD (Standard American Diet) meals, but are found in the animals and plants we already consume here. The book also has a lot of nutritional and dietary information in the front of the book that is educational to teach yourself about proper nutrition. Example: butter is actually good for you! And so is cholesterol, when used from the right sources and in moderation. Anyway! If you are interested in learning more about eating in a way that is better for you, check it out.

Here is the recipe:

Milk Warmer

1 and 1/2 cups milk

2 tbs carob powder

3 tbs maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp chocolate extract

-Heat all ingredients gently over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture becomes warm.

Do not over heat!

Enjoy!

Pen Pal Revival

2011-09-27T19:10:00.003-04:00

I am super excited about this post! It is not as serious as a couple of my last posts have been, but it strikes at a similar heart to the video in this post: Life is too hurried

We are inner connected in many, many ways and sometimes too over-connected. I have a Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Hotmail, Gmail, Amazon, YouTube, Yahoo, Wordpress and Blogger accounts. That is a lot of online presence, but does any of this give me a sense of closeness with the people I interact with? In some ways yes, but it most ways it doesn't. It takes very little effort to jump on the laptop and shoot a quick message to someone. I can exert even less energy by simply clicking "like" on someone's photo. These activities give the impression that I am involved in their lives, but I might not even know them hardly at all. And I know it takes very little effort for my friends to do the same back to me. Mind you, I do appreciate my friends letting me know that they read my blog posts, Facebook updates and tweets with a comment and I would feel sad if I didn't receive any feedback at all.

But all of this internet connectivity does not take the place of genuine, heart-felt, honest communication. Whether that is face-to-face over coffee or chatting on the phone or working side-by-side at a soup kitchen. Something happens when you can actually look into someone's eyes and hear their voice and read between the pauses and posture to understand the depths of that person. Or at least a little peek into their soul. Isn't that the ultimate goal? To have someone know your thoughts before you even speak them?

That being said, I think we have lost the art of communication through the written letter.

There is something about opening a fresh pack of stationary, pressing the pen to the page, licking the envelope, applying the stamp and putting the envelope in the mail to a far off destination that puts a smile on my face. Maybe it is the reminder of my childhood days of pen pals and friends I had left behind as we moved states with my Dad's career. Here are pictures I took back in 1996 of my 5 pen pals from Michigan to Missori to Texas to Pennsylvania to Kenya, Africa.

I'm the blond in this picture.

Digging out these old photos reminds me that I do miss writing letters! My best friend Karen and I will still write each other the occasional letter. I love that! She lives in Maryland and I am here in Florida and despite the fact that we interact with one another online and talk on the phone, it means a lot when she takes time to jot me a quick note, throw it into an envelope, jab a stamp on it and drop it in the mail box. Writing this post makes me want to write a lot more often.

The whole inspiration for this post was because there is one man who has received letters from over 3,000 people from around the world. Why, you ask? Because he has thrown over 4,000 messages in a bottle into the ocean in hopes of getting a reply. Now there is a man who knows the value and connectivity that can be found through the written words of a stranger. (Watch a video about him by clicking here.)

(UPDATE: A friend of mine has just told me about Post Crossing. I am totally excited to try this out! It is a free site that allows you to send and receive post cards from around the world. I guess I will have the opportunity to start writing again! And I'll give you an update as I receive and send postcards around the globe.)

Downsizing Our Home?

2011-09-26T12:10:00.000-04:00

We have been inspired to live simply. From reading One Thousand Gifts and The Reason for God to watching Fran's Chan sermons online, our hearts have been spurred to change. Everywhere we look, we see opportunities to help, assist, sacrifice for the good of others, but we find it hard to fit that into our middle class lives. For years we have developed a typical American life: successful careers, 2 kids, 3 bed/2 bath house with privacy fence and 2 car garage, vacations with family over the holidays, eating out once or twice a week, on and on we go. That isn't a bad thing, but for us, our comfort trumped our obedience to God.

The time has come to change.

I read this article from Thriving Family magazine just last week and I wept as my eyes took in the words. Francis Chan and his family have downgraded their home to give their extra money to those who truly need it after Francis witnessed first had the poverty and depravity in Uganda. Many have questioned this decision, wondering how this sacrifice could be beneficial for their four children, but the Chans have not wavered in their decision to live simply for the purpose of serving others. The section of the article that struck me the most was what their 14 year old daughter said about a difficult time for them when a single mother who only spoke Spanish and her four children came to live at her family's house:

Rachel looks back on their time with the homeless family as an important season of growth. "The reason it was so hard at first was due to the fact that I was not putting them before myself," she says. "It was an issue for me to understand that the world does not revolve around me. This is not my home. My treasure is in heaven, and my home is with Christ."

Such an attitude leaves Francis and Lisa in awe of what God has done in their children's hearts. In downsizing their life, they now see that they've lost nothing of real value — and have gained a treasure of eternal worth.

Does that not just touch your heart? I want my children to grow up and know that this is not their home. This life is only temporary, a fleeting moment, a dim reflection in the mirror. How can they learn this from me if I am digging my nails deeply trying to grip the sand of this life as it slips through my fingers? If the disappoints of this life make me yell and scream and kick my feet in protest, how do these reaction send the message that this life is temporal?

We are inspired and motivated to change.

Just the other day I said to Craig, "If we are going to have or adopt more kids, we are going to need a bigger house." Wait. Do we need another house, or would it be more comfortable to have a bigger house? Craig's gentle reminder put the perspective back where it needed to be. As Americans, we are blessed more then we can fathom. My daily complaints are over luxuries that the majority of the world has never experienced: driving, air conditioning, purchasing new things, healthy children, wardrobe options. Most of the world worries about life altering dilemmas: clean water, typhoid, child soldiers, human trafficking, poor nutrition. How shortsighted I become when I choose to ignore the daily ongoing needs of those around me and around the world. How blinded I am when I think, "I don't have the resources to help them." Don't I serve a big God? Isn't he capable of anything?

Change is the only option.

Craig is a teacher. I am a photographer. We have 2 preschoolers, a mortgage and student loan payments. We have great reasons not to serve, not to reach out, not to give of ourselves. But that isn't an option for us anymore. As Christians, we are called to help the orphans and widows. We are commissioned to share this hope we have in Christ with others. We can no longer continue on this path of self preservation, knowing that others need us to respond. We aren't going to be as drastic as the Chan family by downsizing our home, but we are making changes. I'll write about those another time, but for now the biggest change is our outlook on life. We are truly rich in every way, and it is time that the wealthy give to the poor.

This video always helps me to get my head back on straight. I hope it helps you see the world through different eyes. And the pictures are just gorgeous!

UPDATE
After writing this post, a friend shared this project with me and I think it is a fitting addition to this post. This is a picture project of by Peter Menzel that captures families and all of their possessions. It really gives a perspective about how much we own as Americans. Take a look by clicking here.

I have written a post about one way we are going to implement these changes. Read it by clicking here.

The Pier Aquariam

2011-09-24T20:51:00.000-04:00

This was our second family day trip this month and it was a treat, despite the rain. We received free tickets to The Pier Aquarium through the Smithsonian because today was national museum day. Asher has been anxiously anticipating our trip to the aquarium for a week and we knew it would be a great time.

We had lunch at Fresco's Waterfront Bistro, which was fun for the kids because we overlooked all of the boats. While eating, the rain began and we had to act creatively as we walked a mile or so to our destination. Everyone was a little wet, but thankfully, we all love the rain!

The Pier was packed with families waiting to enter the aquarium. Thankfully there was ice cream, balloon making and other activities for the kids to watch while we waiting. As soon as we got off the elevator, Asher was glowing.

It was magical to watch the kids' faces light up as they saw the first tank of glorious fish. Nothing could be better then witnessing the wonder and awe at God's creation.

Of course, my children saw "Nemo" right away. They both parroted it over and over again. It was funny to hear, since they have only seen 15 minutes of the movie. They are little sponges, aren't they?

Even though the place was crowded, it almost felt like we had the place to ourselves as my children stood in absolute awe of every fish, coral reef and crab.

We were very excited about the touch and feel station that I read about online on the museum webpage, but due to the crowds, it was closed. We will just have to come back another time! Thankfully, Asher didn't remember that we told him he could touch the sea creatures.

Craig and I wish he knew a little bit more about what we were looking at. Unfortunately, we could only say, "Wow. Look at that one!"

This was a diagram of what the insides of a fish look like. Asher thought is was fascinating.

The kids really loved flipping up this flaps to see what fish were underneath.

Asher tried playing with this for a bit, but couldn't figure out the purpose and neither could I, honestly.

And to end our trip, we had a stranger take a picture of us. Yes, Alethea does have her finger up her nose. Oh well! Add that to our dilemmas, I guess!

Restless

2011-09-22T23:20:00.000-04:00

The other day Alethea fell fast asleep on my chest while we were playing together. It was the strangest thing. We were laughing and giggling and then, BAM. Fast asleep. It was the sweetest moment, though and reminded me of the comfort and peace that is brought to my countenance from a sleeping baby. I miss that.

This quite moment reminds me of how I am with my heavenly father.

My children run around, never stopping, always moving.

Hands finding toys to tussle about.

Mouths singing and speaking in a constant flow.

Minds discovering new things as fast as their eyes blink.

But when they get into my arms, they stop.

Calm.

Quiet.

Peaceful.

And then they are up again, remembering the toy they put down or the book they left unread, or the fact that they didn't see how fast their legs could take them from one side of living room to the other.

How often am I like that with God?

Facebook checking.

Blog writing.

Photo editing.

Making meals.

Laughing with friends.

Connecting with husband.

Writing e-mails.

Putting in laundry.

Grocery shopping.

Attending church.

Restless.

How often do I stop and rest in His arms?

Not nearly enough. I am up and running on to the next "important" task, forgetting that time of peace and safety and calm in the arm of my eternal father. And just like my 3 year old, when my tasks become too much for my feeble arms, I throw it down and scream, looking for the one who can make it all better. How much easier my life would be if I just rested in God all the time.

The chorus of this song sums up my thought so nicely.

Time for me to rest.

1950's Housewife

2011-09-22T09:51:00.004-04:00

My favorite era for women's fashion is the 1950's. The emphasis was on extenuating and enhancing the natural form and figure of the feminine physic. Natural waistlines, red lips and shinny healthy hair were the focus of the time, which are natural indicators of health and vitality. The shapeless forms that are seen in magazines and on runways now, aren't the natural figure of the average women. The 1950's had something right, and I try to emulate this era with my wardrobe a lot.

Yesterday I wanted to look like a 1950's housewife. That is one of the 100 things about me (#18, to be exact) that I wish I could do every day, and I decided that dressing nice for me and me alone on Wednesday. It was my hope that my hair will last so that my husband can see my adorable 'do, but in Florida's humidity, he was only able to experience the full effect through images.

Tuesday night I painted my nails, because I wanted to feel feminine. I paint my nails about twice a year, because the maintenance of them does warrant the feeling of relaxation I desperately need as a mother. They get painted for a show or I had a need to prove to myself that I am more then just a mom, and out comes the bottles of goopy color. I went with a burgundy instead of my classic Revlon Red, just to change things up.

Femininity is a hard thing to feel when you have snot on your shoulder and crayon on your jeans, but the nail painting has put my head in another place of girlishness this morning. And I am embracing it! After working out last night, despite my lack of results, I have decided to believe that I am thinner this morning, therefore needing to accentuate my tiny waist with a 1950's natural waist line and an "a" frame skirt. Since I do not want to look like a clown to the other moms at the park, I decided to hold off on the bright red lipstick. Instead I went with my usual look, with a little more punch in the eyes and lips.

For shoes, I wanted to sport a brown peep-toe heel. These are one of my favorite pairs of shoes. Love them! The problem with these shoes was I needed to chase a 3 and 1 year old around the park. Compromise is the sanity of my life, so I donned a pair of brown ballet flats instead.

Now, I resemble a 1950's housewife. I feel extremely feminine and empowered. I enjoyed this look and it really boosted my waning feels of being nothing more then a mom.

What makes you feel more attractive?

(SIDE NOTE: I am planning on rolling out 1950's inspired boudoir photos in January!)

Losing Weight 101

2011-09-20T11:28:00.002-04:00

I am trying to loose weight. My daughter is almost 2 years old, and I am still holding on to my last 10 pounds of baby fat. It probably doesn't help that I cook with butter, make a baked good once a week and snack on kettle chips and ice cream several nights a week, but I think it is more then that. I think my metabolism has finally changed.

Growing up, I was always thin. I didn't have to try to be thin, I just was. With a fast metabolism, home cooked meals and an active lifestyle, I never worried about exercising or intentionally watching what I ate. It was the state I found myself in all of my days without any conscious thought on my part. (I know, some of you are throwing stones at the computer as you read this, but that was just the way God made me.) I have always been thin, until I had Alethea. I was 180+ pounds when Alethea was born. Here are a couple of pics to show you the changes I have undergone over the last couple of years.


Playing around on the set of "Oklahoma!" before a show in 2007

Performing at TWH annual award ceremony, 7 months pregnant with Asher, June 2008

With Asher on the set of "Kiss Me Kate," spring 2009

Dancing with my brother at his wedding, 1 week before Alethea was born, December 2010

Performing in "Sound of Music," March 2011

Now, I have weight to loose and feel clueless as to how to do it! I know that you are suppose to gain weight with pregnancy, but I put on a lot of unnecessary weight having not recovered physically and emotionally from having my first child only 17 months earlier. Since then I have lost 40 pounds, but I still have more to go. It was so easy to loose weight before kids and now I feel like a stick in the mud of cellulite: stuck forever. It has become very hard for me to budge the scale even a fraction. Having that scale (and my "punishment pants" as Karen calls them) reminds me that I need to make bigger strides towards my goal: getting back to my pre-baby weight. I have accepted that parts of me will never look the same, but I do want to be back down to 130 pounds, which is a healthy weight for my height and age.

Now the questions is, how do I loose weight? I love food too much to "diet." Seriously. I LOVE FOOD!!!! I would consider myself a novice foodie, and am ALWAYS willing to eat. Give me any food and I will try it at least once. Love me some food! Also, I have a family of four to cook for and we are organic eaters. So as far as dieting goes, that rules out shakes, bars and any other dieter meal replacement things. Is my only option salads? Salads for three meals a day? I do like salad, but how do I make them amazing? Suggestions? I also have a hard time finding information about what size portions I should be consuming, beside what the FDA recommends. I have found this article, but it does not give portion sizes. How do I know how much to eat? Is the tedious task of counting calories the only solution with my salads? Dieting, how I hate thee!

On the exercise front, I am training for a marathon, run three times a week and zumba twice a week. I do love zumba because it is fun, engaging, different and burns 800 calories a class. Yep. You read that correctly. 800 calories a class! Burning all of these calories isn't helping with the weight loss though! Ughhhh. This is getting frustrating!

According to that quote I put at the top of this post, I need to convince my mind that I can do it. I guess it is time for a little will power and mind over body action. I just wish it was easier! Can I get an "amen?" Is there anyone out there that feels the same way? Am I alone is this weight loss stand off?

I guess it is time to go make a salad for lunch...

The October Dress Project 2010

2011-09-19T11:31:00.002-04:00

I am very excited to be starting this project again in just two weeks! I first found out about the October Dress Project last year as I watched a friend from college post pictures of herself in the same grey dress day after day. I asked her to explain a little more to me about what she was doing and why and she pointed me to this website: the origins of the October Dress Project. After I read about it, I knew I had to do it! I was in the middle of Beth Moore's study on Daniel and felt like this was a perfect compliment to what I was learning, "we are strangers in this land." Through this study, I realized how much envy had taken over my day-to-day thinking as I looked at a wardrobe I couldn't wear because I hadn't lost my baby fat. I knew the October Dress Project would help to do some attitude adjusting, making me grateful for clean clothes in my closet.

I discovered this project part of the way through and joined in for the last 19 days of fun. Because the project had already started, I decided to use a dress I already had. It wasn't the easiest dress to work with because it had spaghetti straps, stretched out very easily and developed several stains that never came out. I was nursing my youngest at the time, so the dress had to serve that function as well. The purple dress was awesome for me because I loved the pop of color and experimenting with different color combinations I would never have tried otherwise. I wish I was blogging last year and could tell you all of the things I learned, but I will be documenting my journey this year.

Here are the pictures from the October Dress Project 2010:

And the whole project ended with everyone in my family wearing purple. It was awesome!

As I gear up with my friends for this year's October Dress Project, I am on a hunt for a dress. I want to go out today to find something, but don't think that is in the cards. For me, it needs to be cotton, above the knee, thicker straps, and a pop of color. That is what I am looking for and need to find it soon! I will be posting all about what I am feeling, showing you the pictures of the outfits I am creating and any other random thoughts that pop into my head through out the October Dress Project.

Want to join in the fun? Please do! All you have to do is commit to wearing the same dress all month and there you go! You can pair any accessories you want with it. I added pants and shirts to mine as well, to make it work with the kids. The more the merrier! So join me!!!

Dilemma with Church

2011-09-18T14:09:00.001-04:00

We are having a dilemma with church. The name of the dilemma is Asher and Alethea.

Alethea is almost 21 months and is still having major separation anxiety. She won't go in the nursery without major tears. We always tell the nursery workers that she will cry, but that she should be fine in a couple of minutes. If only that were true. Halfway through the singing, the nursery workers came to tell us that she was still crying and very worked up. We thought that maybe we could bring her into the service and quietly sit with her, but as she looked through the storybook Bible we brought, she kept shouting "sun, sun!" every time she saw a picture of the sun, moon or fire. There is a lot of all three in the Bible, in case you didn't know. I was a little shocked myself to see a picture of one of these three items on just about every page. There was the only educational thing I learned from service today.

Asher is three years old and too old to be in the nursery. Our church does have children's church for ages three to six, but we feel like that is too big of a developmental gap. The kids are expected to sit still for long periods of time in children's church, which defeats the purpose of having a separate service for them. For now, we have decided to try to have Asher in the service with us. We feel that it is good for him to learn proper behavior in an adult setting at a young age. He loves the singing and has a good relationship with our pastor, making it comfortable for him to sit and listen. Today we brought an activity bag for him of Bible coloring pages, flash cards, a toy car and his storybook Bible. He was doing pretty well, but then his sister came into the service with us and it was impossible to manage both of them. We just left.

As we exited the doors, we felt defeated. We hadn't even made it to the pastor's sermon. How can you teach your children to sit quietly when there isn't an environment for them to practice just that? How can we be spiritually encouraged if our children don't fit into the places carved out for them during the Sunday service? What is the purpose in going if we are spending all of our time wrangling the children? Both Craig and I felt exhausted and drained after our morning at church. I now understand why many families with young children will take a season away from church. It was downright stressful!

We don't want to stop going, because we want to continue to teach the kids that this is a part of our lives. It is good for Alethea to have time away from us and it is healthy for Asher to learn to sit quietly and behave himself in an adult setting. We want to try to have fellowship with others in our congregation and gain encouragement from the Sunday sermon. I am just having a hard time figuring out how this all works in this season of life.

Are there any suggestions out there?

Likes and Dislikes of My Family

2011-09-17T17:43:00.003-04:00

While riding around doing errands today, Craig and I starting laughing about the strange things my kids like, and it evolved into an entire list of things each of like and dislike. So, we decided to jot them all down for a blog post and here it is!

The kids like:

-Grapefruit as a special treat after breakfast
-Books on a car ride across town
-Broccoli out of a Chick-fil-a salad
-Motorcycles, sirens and garbage trucks
-Kettle corn at the farmer's market
-Educational television
-Pulling weeds in the front yard
-Kale and carrot juice

Craig likes:

-Spazzy metal music (that is what he calls it)
-Beards
-Sleeve tattoos
-Nutmeg
-Office supply stores
-Gibson Les Pauls
-Yard work
-Jamming (on the guitar, bass or drums)

Karissa likes:

-Kettle chips
-Zumba
-New recipes
-Theatre (would you expect anything else?)
-Christmas
-To-do lists
-Staying up late
-Cardigans

The kids DON'T like:

-Loud laughter (Alethea)
-Loud music (Asher)
-Sand
-Going inside after pool time
-Washing their hair
-Changing plans
-Sharing the trains
-Stopping reading in the middle of a book

Craig doesn't like:

-Dirty dishes
-Top buttons on dress shirts
-Wearing pants at home (he changes into shorts all year round)
-Un-moped kitchen floors
-People not honoring crosswalks
-Popcorn kernels stuck in his teeth
-Un-brushed teeth

Karissa doesn't like:

-MSG
-My expensive tastes
-Sweating
-GMO's
-Fire ants
-How easy it is to spend $100 on at Target on nothing
-Loosing sunglasses, water bottles and bobby pins

(Pictures are from our trip to Bok Tower Gardens. Click here to read about it.)

The Full Monty at TWH

2011-09-16T14:03:00.002-04:00

There is a theatre I call home here in central Florida. It is Theatre Winter Haven and I love it. I've written about it before, so I won't repeat myself about how much I love them this time. That was were I was last night: at my theatre home.

Turning into the parking lot sends excitement through my limbs and walking up the stairs to the box office puts a bounce in my step, because I know so many of the people who run, work and perform there. I wish I was more eloquent with words to describe how comforting it feels to be in a space that I have spend hours and hours in over the last 5 years creating intangible art for thousands of people. Have you ever seen "Once" the movie? That film portrays such an accurate picture of what it feels like to create music or theatre or some kind of collaborative art together. It is hard to describe to others who haven't experienced it before, but there is a connection you find with the people you create with that brings a closeness, but not necessarily a knowing of the person. Does any of this make any sense? I guess I am rambling on about nonsense instead of getting to the purpose of the post, which was to describe the show I saw last night!

I went there last night to see the opening of the 42nd season at the theatre and their first show "The Full Monty." I had never seen the show and beside hearing a few songs, I didn't know much about it. All I knew was my friend directed it, a lot of my friends were in it, and the men were stripping. I enjoy seeing new shows and experiencing the story that the playwright/composer/lyricist crafted when they created the piece.

Photo courtesy of Theatre Winter Haven

This show is not for every audience member. There is language, sexual connotations, and nudity. And to answer your questions, no, you could not see everything, and yes, they did do the Full Monty. That being said, the show is not about the stripping, in spite of what the title implies. It is a means to fill a void in the men who have lost their hope. They had found fulfillment in their jobs as steel workers, but after massive layoffs and no work in a oppressed economy, they felt hopeless, useless and purposeless. Stripping gave them back their self-respect, purpose and drive. The director is an avid story teller and loves the arcs and depths of the human condition. This musical was a great one for her to craft because of the raucous humor pitted against the serious obstacles these men faced. As with all of her work, you can see her heart shining through the piece and holding it all together as the actors and crew honored her vision.

Photo courtesy of Theatre Winter Haven

I did not agree with a lot of the ways things were dealt with in the show from a moral stand point, but I did enjoy a lot of the music. My favorite songs were, "Big Black Man," "The Goods," and "Let it Go." A good friend of mine sang a duet entitled "You Walk with Me" that just warmed my heart. It was absolutely beautifully sung and acted. The sets were gorgeous, as all sets are at TWH, and the musicians did a great job. The crew pulled together a great show and some of the kinks of the first weekend will work themselves out as they get more practice.

Photo courtesy of Theatre Winter Haven

It was a great evening at the theatre, which ended with cake and catching up with friends.

I want a dead drop

2011-09-15T10:04:00.001-04:00

Alright, I am a pretty main stream person in general, besides eating organically....... and having a chemical free house...... and not eating pork...... and making my own toothpaste..... and alright, so I am not so main stream. So this post will fit perfectly into my non-main stream life!

There is a new craze that I now want to try, and it is pretty out there. It is a very nerdy thing and I don't really quite understand the purpose of it. Craig introduced me to it last night and I am now super excited about creating my own! When he first showed me the website and we read the description and all of that, I just kept wondering what the point was. Why would you do it? What would you get out of it? Isn't it illegal?

Photo credit: http://deaddrops.com/

Are you ready to know what it is? It is called a dead drop and was started by this guy. Basically, it is a USB drive that is plastered into a hole in a wall in a public place. Anyone can put files on, take files off and it is completely offline. I am not a tech savvy person (just ask any of my friends. I can barely text) , so I don't fully get the purpose of this whole thing. Why would you want random files from some random person? What if a virus has been installed on the dead drop? Wouldn't it just be used to rip illegal music/videos and share it with others?

This video is what sold me.

Dead Drops 'How to' - NYC from aram bartholl on Vimeo.

Doesn't it look so cool? It just looks like you are standing next to a wall with your computer. I have no idea why I think it is so great, except for the fact that is is different and a little rebellious, down-with-the-man mentality. What do you think? There is only 1 in Florida and it is in Orlando. Should a Lakeland dead drop become a reality?

Hard being a professional photographer

2011-09-14T08:45:00.001-04:00

Sometimes it is hard to be working. Even though I am a stay-at-home-mom, my family benefits from me making extra money to pay for birthday gifts, Christmas travel and new shoes for the kids. It is a privilege to do something I love, since my mantra is, "whatever your job is, make sure it is something you love to do." There is just one problem with my job: inadequacy.

For professional development, I often look at other photographers' work and constantly read articles about improving my business in all aspects. Often the work I admire comes from people who do this as their full time job, not as supplemental income. You know how hard it is to want to have the professional blog, customized stationary, the ability to charge $1,000 because you have the years of experience and expertise? I know I should be grateful for what I have now, since my business just hit it's 1 year anniversary, but that is where I am this morning. I want the flashy website and hundreds of clients and international travel and featured photos in magazines and yada, yada, yada. I feel like the Little Mermaid this morning: "I want more." Sometime I think, "if only I had my degree in business or marketing instead of world missions." Maybe that would give me the edge I need to stay ahead of the competition.

Struggling. Feeling less. Wanting more.

God, thank you for the blessing of my business. Help me to continue to use the gifts and abilities that you have given me as a tool to serve others. Guide me as my business grows and changes and help me to keep your eternal perspective in all things. Amen.